AAI Files Comments in DOT’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Transparency in Airline Ancillary Fees

The AAI filed comments with the U.S Department of Transportation today in response to the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM): “Transparency of Airline Ancillary Fees and Other Consumer Protection Issues” (Docket DOT–OST–2014–0056). The AAI’s comments address the importance of transparent ancillary service prices for competition. Lack of transparency is of particular concern in light of (1) increased consolidation and concentration in the domestic industry and stronger incentives to coordinate on capacity, fares, and ancillary fees and (2) the consumer lock-in that is promoted by non-transparent ancillary fees. The AAI supports a number of the DOT’s proposals in the NPRM and urges the DOT to apply ancillary fee transparency requirements uniformly to all market participants and across all distribution channels.